Sunday, June 17, 2012

It was in the streets of Indore watching the 'horse' during Muharram processions that a boy got inspiration for art and whom the world got to know as MF Husain and here was born the swashbuckling batsman--Captain Mushtaq Ali, who holds the record of scoring the first century* in test cricket for India abroad, in England.

The City where Lata Mangeshkar was born and also where born was India's original comedian--Badruddin Qazi alias Johnny Walker, another dreamy-eyed youngster who like the illustrious painter, had left for Mumbai and became a legendary Bollywood actor, but could never forget his humble roots.

Indore has innumerable such rags to riches stories about people who turned national heroes. This is the City where Salim Khan [of scriptwriters Salim-Javed], the father of Salman Khan, belongs. Indore, which was termed mini-Bombay, was always home to vibrant culture.

The Holkar's cricket team for which Denis Compton also played, had brought Indore to the international cricketing map. After all, which cricket enthusiast can forget the team's record score of 912-8 in the Ranji match against Mysore. The great Colonel CK Nayudu also played for Holkar and lived here.

In the past, Indore was always known for its communal amity and Hindu-Muslim culture. Owing to strong Muslim presence in Malwa region, in Western MP, and the towns around, Indore had a distinct place in Muslim culture of North India.

CK Nayudu, Salim Khan, Shah Bano & Rahat Indori

One of the first Muslim leaders of Jana Sangh, Arif Beg, who famously addressed election rallies with the slogan after emergency, 'Mere Mulk ke Maalikon', which was loved by the common man and had made him a national figure, was born here. He rode to electoral success during the 'Janata Lahar' and won from Bhopal.

How the Shah Bano case changed Indian politics, gave BJP the word 'appeasement'

It is a place to which belonged a woman who shook the Indian politics. Shah Bano, a resident of Indore, was given divorce by her lawyer husband, in her old age, and her case went up to Supreme Court. Despite opposition by Arif Mohammad Khan, Rajiv Gandhi succumbed to the conservatives' demand.

The demand for maintenance allowance by Shah Bano turned the very face of Indian politics. It gave the word 'appeasement' to right-wing's dictionary. Even though on the advise of Arun Nehru [and possibly Arun Singh], Rajiv Gandhi government got the locks of Ram temple opened at Ayodhya.

This was done as a balancing act and for the appeasement of Hindus. However, the sequence of events affected national politics and communal amity was disturbed. LK Advani took out a 'rath yatra', and it ultimately led to rise of BJP and the destruction of Babri Masjid.

The right-wing had got a fresh lease of life in India due to the Shah Bano episode. For them it was was a godsend. They successfully managed to give a message to Hindus that the government went out of the way to please Muslims.

Of Mills and Marxism

Old-timers still recall with nostalgia that once Indore had a strong communist presence. The widely respected Parsi leader Homi Daji was elected from here as MLA twice and even got elected to the Parliament. He had become an MP in 1962, winning as an independent candidate, defeating the Congress and Jan Sangh.

Homi Daji

Once a city of workers, the closure of mills [you might have heard of the Jain trader-textile king Sir Seth Hukum Chand] led to unemployment in the 80s. As in Mumbai, Kanpur and Ahmedabad, the labour movements' end led to crime and communal divide.

Naturally, underworld developed and self-styled dons appeared in these places. The sacked workers's sons had no jobs. It was this crop of disgruntled youth who were easy prey for criminals. The situation did change in later years but even today Indore has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

Underworld: Mafia in Malwa

Indore also had a strong underworld. It supplied shooters to Mumbai gangsters till Azamgarh emerged in the 90s. Bala Baig's empire in Indore was destroyed in the early 90s when Sunderlal Patwa became the Chief Minister.

For mafia it was a favourite region. The opium [poppy] cultivation in Mandsaur [and Ratlam] brought the area on the international drug-trafficking map. Narcotic smuggling and illegal drug trade brought money and muscle to the underworld.

The crackdown in 'Bombay Bazaar' in Indore, had however dealt a severe blow to Mafia here. Some localities in Indore were notorious for communal riots and there was a period when the city had riots several times a year [2005 onwards], now the city has been free from communal trouble for the last few years.

Communalism and Fanaticism

Indore has a dark underbelly. Unfortunately, it became a centre for both Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists in the 90s. It was here that the leader of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) Safdar Nagori, who hails from nearby Ujjain, was arrested. SIMI was quite strong here and so was Abhinav Bharat.

The most wanted right-wing Hindu extremists, Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, apart from many other fanatics whose role is suspected in bomb blasts and terror strikes at Samjhauta Express, Hyderabad, Malegaon and Ajmer Dargah, hailed from here.

Arif Beg

Quite like Mumbai, a throbbing city with a dark underbelly. In the last few years, economy is once again back on track here and the city seems moving ahead, shedding its communal baggage and the legacy of underworld.

Today Indore is a bustling commercial centre and most populated city of Madhya Pradesh. For a poetry aficionado like me, it is also a city where Urdu poet Rahat Indori lives. Locals take pride in the fact that Rahul Dravid was also born here though he later settled in Bangalore.

Another important factor that should be mentioned is that Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of Indian constitution was born in MHOW (Military Headquarters of War, now Mhow), the twin town of Indore, located just 20-odd kms from here.

The City is also famous for the Indore gharana. Like every other big city town it has its past--good and bad phases, dark and bright areas. But what is unique about the city is the amazing personalities who were born here and who managed to achieve their dreams. Read the first part on Indore Travelogue:

[*The first century on foreign soil was hit by Mushtaq when he opened with Vijay Merchant, who had also hit a century in the same innings. The runs were scored so fast that India reached 390 in a day, and the overall score by both teams was 588 in a day's play, a world record till today. Syed Mushtaq Ali remained a darling of crowds through out his cricketing career. Narendra Hirwani, who took 16 wickets in a test and the women cricketer Sandhya Agarwal who made world record with highest score in international cricket also hail from here.]

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